BCPL says the land purchased from Plum Creek features a lot of hardwoods.

Credit Joshua Mayer

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BCPL manages timber lands to fund a loan program. The interest on those loans goes to school libraries. BCPL Executive Secretary Tia Nelson says the purchase will help consolidate the group’s nearly 20,000 acres of existing holdings in Forest County.

“We look for opportunities that increase the efficiency with which we can manage our lands. And that would mean building a larger block, reducing small inholdings.”

Nelson says the logistics of managing smaller blocks of land are more expensive than when land parcels link up. So that increase in efficiency helps BCPL generate more revenue, that ultimately helps buy books for kids.

“We’ll be managing that property for hardwood timber production. There’s a strong demand for that wood right there in Forest County, with local mills. And timber we harvest there, the revenue from those timber sales will be deposited in the school trust funds.”

Nelson says 96 cents on every dollar generated through the School Trust Funds goes to aid school libraries. Last year that totaled $30 million.